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{{Infobox Bilateral relations|Costa Rica–India|Costa Rica|India}}

'''Costa Rica–India relations''' refers to the international relations that exist between [[Costa Rica]] and [[India]]. Costa Rica has an embassy in [[New Delhi]] whilst India has a non resident ambassador in Panama. As of 2026, Costa Rica’s Ambassador to India is H.E. Nestor Gabriel Baltodano Vargas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Naveen |date=2026-01-09 |title=India's CEC Meets Costa Rica Ambassador, Strengthening Bilateral Ties |url=https://www.newkerala.com/news/a/chief-election-commisioner-gyanesh-kumar-meets-costa-ricas-509.htm |access-date=2026-02-04 |website=NewKerala.com |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
Costa Rica supported India's position in the [[Kashmir dispute]] at the [[United Nations]] in 1993 and 1994. It also voted against Pakistan's draft resolution on Kashmir at the [[UNCHR]] in [[Geneva]] in 1994.<ref name="MEA2013"/>

India appointed an honorary consul in [[San José, Costa Rica|San José]] in 1995, and Costa Rica opened an honorary consulate in [[New Delhi]] in 1996.<ref name="MEA2016">{{cite web |date=December 2016 |title=India - Costa Rica Relations |url=https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Costa_Rica_Dec_2016.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908215702/https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Costa_Rica_Dec_2016.pdf |archive-date=8 September 2017 |access-date=29 March 2017 |website=Ministry of External Affairs}}</ref> Costa Rica dismissed its honorary consuls in [[Bombay]] and [[Calcutta]], with the intention of opening its embassy in India in 1990. However, plans to open the embassy were delayed. Costa Rica announced its intention to open an embassy in 2007.<ref name="MEA2013">{{cite web |date=January 2013 |title=India - Costa Rica Relations |url=https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Costa_Rica-India_Bilateral-Jan_2013.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714151334/http://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Costa_Rica-India_Bilateral-Jan_2013.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |access-date=29 March 2017 |website=Ministry of External Affairs}}</ref> The embassy in New Delhi was finally opened on 20 April 2010.<ref>{{cite web |date=21 April 2010 |title=Costa Rica opens embassy in India |url=http://en.people.cn/90001/90777/90852/6958174.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922033107/http://en.people.cn/90001/90777/90852/6958174.html |archive-date=22 September 2022 |access-date=29 March 2017 |website=People's Daily Online |agency=Xinhua}}</ref> It was served by a Charge d’ Affaires from June 2010 until the first ambassador of Costa Rica to India was appointed in June 2011.<ref name="MEA2013"/> The Indian Embassy in Panama is jointly accredited to Costa Rica.<ref name="MEA2016" />

The first Foreign Office Consultations between India and Costa Rica were held in August 2012.<ref name="MEA2016"/>

==High level visits==
[[Vice President of Costa Rica|Costa Rican Vice President]] [[Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría]] visited India in October 2015. Several [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Costa Rica)|Costa Rican Foreign Ministers]], Ministers for Foreign Trade, and other dignitaries have visited India since 1997. From India, the highest level visits to Costa Rica have been at the level of minister of state. The Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, D. Purandareswari, visited Costa Rica in April 2013 and the Minister of State for External Affairs, [[General officer|General]] [[V.K. Singh]] (Retd), visited Costa Rica in July 2015.<ref name="MEA2016"/>

In May 2025, H.E. Nestor Gabriel Baltodano Vargas presented his credentials as Ambassador of the Republic of Costa Rica to India to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, reinforcing ongoing diplomatic engagement between the two countries. Ambassador Baltodano Vargas has participated in official meetings with Indian counterparts including discussions with the Chief Election Commissioner of India, highlighting continued cooperation and dialogue at high levels of government.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-30 |title=Nestor Gabriel Baltodano Vargas, Ambassador of the Republic of Costa Rica presenting credentials to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu - Diplomacyindia.com |url=https://diplomacyindia.com/nestor-gabriel-baltodano-vargas-ambassador-of-the-republic-of-costa-rica-presenting-credentials-to-the-president-of-india-droupadi-murmu/ |access-date=2026-02-04 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Agreements==
The two countries have signed several bilateral agreements including MoUs to hold regular foreign office consultations, and to enhance economic and technical cooperation. Costa Rica and India signed an MoU to set up a Centre for Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT) in Costa Rica in 2009. MoUs were signed between the Foreign Service Institutes of India and Costa Rica, and the FSI and Costa Rican Diplomatic Academy in March 2015.<ref name="MEA2016"/>

==Trade==
Bilateral trade between Costa Rica and India totaled US$196.97 million in 2015. India exported $134.76 million worth of goods to Costa Rica (growing 40.62% over 2014), and imported $62.21 million (declining by 59.94% from 2014). India's imports from Costa Rica witnessed a steady rise up to 2013, but dropped considerably following the closure of an Intel chip factory in San José in 2014. Indian imports of integrated circuits from Costa Rica dropped by 55% in 2014.<ref name="MEA2016"/>

The main commodities exported by India to Costa Rica are automobiles, pharmaceutical products, textiles and clothing, motorcycles, organic chemicals, electrical machinery, and miscellaneous products such as notebooks, cables, and tyres. The major commodities imported by India from Costa Rica are wood and articles of wood, integrated circuits and micro assemblies, optical medical or surgical instruments, and to a lesser extent, nuts, coffee, tea, glass, and glassware.<ref name="MEA2016" />

Indian IT firms Infosys, Cognizant, and CSS Corp set up delivery centers in San José in 2013. Companies utilize Costa Rica to serve the U.S. market at a lower cost. Movate Formerly CSS Corp CEO Sunil Mittal estimated that serving the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-09-21 |title=CSS Corp rebrands to Movate |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/css-corp-rebrands-to-movate/article65917492.ece |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=The Hindu BusinessLine |language=en}}</ref> market from Costa Rica resulted in savings of about 15-20%. Apart from close proximity, Costa Rica also has the advantage of sharing the same time zone as the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Srivastava |first1=Ishan |date=Dec 26, 2013 |title=Indian IT companies queue up for Costa Rica |url=http://www.gadgetsnow.com/tech-news/Indian-IT-companies-queue-up-for-Costa-Rica/articleshow/27870303.cms |access-date=29 March 2017 |website=Gadgets Now, The Times of India}}</ref> TCS and Wipro also have operations in San José.<ref name="MEA2016" />

==Cultural relations==
Professor Hilda Chen Apuy visited India on a [[UNESCO]] [[scholarship]] in the 1950s, and later introduced studies on [[Indian History]], [[Indian philosophy|Philosophy]] and [[Sanskrit]] at the [[University of Costa Rica]] in San José. Hilda also published several articles on India. The Spanish version of [[Gandhi]]'s autobiography was launched in Costa Rica in September 2008 by [[President of Costa Rica|President]] [[Óscar Arias]], who also wrote the prologue to the book.<ref name="MEA2016" />

The 2017 Costa Rican film ''[[:es:Enredados: La Confusión|Enredados: La Confusión]]'' (Entangled: The confusion) was directed by [[Bollywood]] film director [[Ashish R Mohan]]. The film is the first Latin American film to include a typical Bollywood song-and-dance that was choreographed by Bollywood choreographers. The film also stars Indian actor Prabhakar Sharan who became the first Indian to star in a Latin American film.<ref name="Film">{{cite news |date=23 December 2016 |title=Now an Indian actor makes waves in Costa Rica (Special to IANS) |url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/now-an-indian-actor-makes-waves-in-costa-rica-special-to-ians-116122300371_1.html |accessdate=29 March 2017 |website=Business Standard India |agency=IANS}}</ref>

==Foreign aid==
India provided Costa Rica with photovoltaic equipment worth {{INRConvert|1.85|m}} in 1997 to establish a solar energy research laboratory at the University of Heredia under the ITEC programme. India donated a telephone exchange to Costa Rican telecom operator ICE in 1998, and provided US$25,000 to help rehabilitate flood victims in 1996. The country donated 18 Bajaj 3-wheelers to the San José Police in December 2005, and donated $100,000 for relief and rehabilitation in the aftermath of [[Hurricane Tomas]] in November 2010.<ref name="MEA2016"/>

The governments of Costa Rica and India signed an MoU to establish a Centre for Excellence in Information Technology (Centro de Excelencia en Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación – CETI) in Costa Rica in September 2009. The Government of India contracted C-DAC and APTECH to set up the Centre in March 2015.<ref name="MEA2016"/> The Centre, located on the campus of the Universidad Técnica Nacional (UTA) in Alajuela, was inaugurated in March 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=India Donates Technology Centre To Costa Rica|url=https://qcostarica.com/india-donates-technology-centre-to-costa-rica/|website=Q Costa Rica News|access-date=29 March 2017|date=8 March 2016}}</ref>

Under a cooperation programme between the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Trade, Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives and Infosys, 70 Costa Rican students and teachers underwent a three-month training program at Infosys in Mysore in 2014.<ref name="MEA2016"/> In March 2017, the Government of India awarded scholarships to 4 Costa Rican women from the indigenous Gnöbe and Bugle ethnic groups for the Barefoot College Institute's Solar Lighting program in Ajmer,
Rajasthan. The women will learn to how to develop a project to build, set up and maintain solar panels so that they can bring electricity to their community Punta Burica, Costa Rica’s southernmost point.<ref>{{cite web |last=Arias |first=L. |date=9 March 2017 |title=Costa Rican indigenous women to study solar lighting in India |url=https://www.ticotimes.net/2017/03/09/solar-lightning-costa-rica |access-date=29 March 2017 |website=The Tico Times}}</ref>

Citizens of Costa Rica are eligible for scholarships under the [[Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme]] and the [[Indian Council for Cultural Relations]].<ref name="MEA2016"/>

==Indians in Costa Rica==
As of December 2016, there are about 250 Indians in Costa Rica, the majority of whom are involved in the IT industry. Some are also businessmen, engaged in exports of wood, or work in NGOs and the Missionaries of Charity. There are at least ten Indian owned restaurants in Costa Rica,<ref name="MEA2016" /> including Indian restaurants "Taj Mahal" and "Naans & Curries" owned by Kapil Gulati who is originally from Gurgaon.<ref name="Film"/> Restaurant "Naans & Curries" received "Annapurna" award 2023 by ICCR (Indian Council of Cultural Relations), Government of India.<ref>{{cite web |last=Chowdhury |first=Srinjoy |date=16 October 2023 |title=India's Soft Power Ploy! Annapurna Certificates to be Awarded to 6 Restaurants in 6 Nations |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/annapurna-certificates-to-be-awarded-to-6-restaurants-in-6-nations-including-balaji-dosa-in-sri-lanka-article-104476863 |website=Times Now}}</ref> The Costa Rica Indian Association (CRIA), established in 2010, is involved in organising social and cultural programmes, as well as trade promotion activities.<ref name="MEA2016" />

==See also==
*[[Foreign relations of Costa Rica]]
*[[Foreign relations of India]]

{{Foreign relations of Costa Rica}}
{{Foreign relations of India}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa Rica-India relations}}
[[Category:Costa Rica–India relations| ]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of Costa Rica|India]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of India|Costa Rica]]

Costa Rica–India relations - Revision history

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